P&WC Powers Canada's First Biofuel-Powered Revenue Flight

Porter Airlines successfully conducted the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada on April 17. In the successful conclusion to a test program that was launched in 2010, the airline flew one of its Bombardier Q400 turboprops from its base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Ottawa using a 50/50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1 fuel in one of its engines.

This is the final step in a two-year project whose key members are Targeted Growth, Bombardier Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney Canada, the manufacturer of the PW150A engines that power the Q400 aircraft, and Porter Airlines. Funding for the biofuel test program was provided by the key partners, as well as by Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) through the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN).

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney Canada's press release.

Coverage:

• Porter Airlines operates Q400 biofuel flight (Air Transport World)

Air China Completes First Sustainable Biofuel Flight Using Pratt & Whitney PW4000 94-inch Engines

Air China, in partnership with Boeing, Honeywell UOP, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, PetroChina and Pratt & Whitney, completed a demonstration flight on Oct. 28 using a sustainable biofuel derived from biomass grown in China.

Air China’s Boeing 747 aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 94-inch engines, completed approximately a one hour flight. No modifications to the aircraft or engine were required for the biofuel, which is a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum-based fuel.

Read Pratt & Whitney's press release here.

Coverage:

• China conducts its first jet biofuel trial (China Daily)
• Air China Completes First Flight With Biofuel Mixture (International Business Times)
• Pratt jet engine’s ‘green’ liftoff slurping biofuel (Hartford Business Journal)
• Air China flies first biofuel powered plane (Biofuels International)
• Biofuel Test Flight A First For China (Earth Techling)